1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the preparation of activated metal, particularly tinplate, and the activated metal itself. The activated metal is highly reactive with oxygen and can be used as a pyrophoric decoy material or as a catalyst.
2) Description of the Prior Art
The closest prior art known to the applicant is commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,609, the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference into the present patent application. This U.S. Patent issued on Jan. 23, 1990, to the inventor of the present invention, and generally describes the preparation of activated metals by several techniques. One of those techniques is the activation of metal foil where the metal can be steel. However, this U.S. Patent does not expressly teach that the metal foil can be tin-plated steel, commonly known as "tinplate".